Dry-dock



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.. R. G. PACKARD. I

DRY DOCK.

No. 460,310. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

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DRY DOUK.

No. 460,310. Patented Sept. 29,1891.

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shelf and the combing at one side.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

RALPH G. PACKARD, OF MORRISTOIVN, NEIV JERSEY.

DRY-DOCK SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,310, dated September 29, 1891.. Application filed December 1, 1890- serial No. 373,148. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RALPH G. PACKARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morristown, in the county of Morris and State ofNew Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Dry-Docks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is made for the purpose of overcoming difficulties in the construction and mode of operating dry-docks and for increasing the strength and durability of the structure and for lessening the expense of repairing the same; and the invention relates to the combination of devices and features of construction hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section showing a portion of the bottom of the dock, the altar system, and the platform and Fig. 2 is a section of the caisson or ponton and the table outside the bottom of the dock. Fig. 3 is a partial plan view with portions of the flooring removed to show the timbers and piling. Fig. 4 isadiagrammatic outline representing the general configuration of the dock, and Fig. 5 is a section at the line 00 of Fig. 1.

In the construction of my improved dock the water is to be excluded by a suitable temporary coffer-dam or bulk-head and by sheetpiling, as ordinarily employed, and an excavaiion of the proper size is made, as usual, and along the central portion of the dock piles A are driven as closely as possible, and they are cut off at the proper height and receive upon them the longitudinal stringers B, and piles C are also driven in rows along the bottom of the dock at suitable distances apart, and there are longitudinal stringers D introduced in the notched heads of the piles O and bolted thereto, and at the base of the altar system or steps E there are rows of piles F, with longitudinal stringers G bolted to the same, and the earth or other materials around the upper ends of the piles are to be excavated sufficiently for the reception of a bed of concrete H, which extends across the entire bottom of the dock and up beneath the altar-steps to the sheet-piling I, and I cover the longitudinal stringers with sloping concrete after placing upon the same the cross floor-timbers K, thereby protecting the longitudinal stringers and providing channels in the surface of the concrete between thelongitudinal stringers, and these channels slope to a pump-Well at any convenient portion of the dock, so that the water will run to this pumpwell.

The concrete that extends to the sheet-piling strengthens the dock at the junction of the bottom and altar-steps and prevents leakage at this place that has heretofore often occurred from the Weight resting on the bottom of the dock, and by sloping up the concrete over the longitudinal stringers they are protected from rot and mud, and foreign sub stances cannot lodge, as they do upon strin ers that are not so protected.

Upon the cross floor-timbers K flooringplanks L are laid, and in these planks there are trap-doors at suitable distances between the longitudinal stringers, so that by the removal of these trap-doors mud, chips, and other foreign substances can be swept olf the flooring, and the same will be carried to the pump-Well by flushing-water admitted as hereinafter described and discharged from the dock, thus keeping the dock clean and free from foreign substances with the least expenditure of labor.

In order to strengthen the supports for the vessel, I make use of intermediate cross floortimbers at K, resting on the stringers and piles, and the keel-blocks M are provided upon the bottom of the dock, as usual, such keel-blocks being secured together and to the cross and longitudinal timbers, and there will also be bilge-blocks M (see Fig. 4) placed in lines at each side of the keel-blocks.

The dock has an abutment that is provided at the entrance end with cross-sills P, that rest upon sill-timbers P and rows of piling Q, and the sills P rise above the sill-timbers P to form an offset or shoulder for the ponton R, and the joints between the crosssill P and sill-timbers are made water-tight by the introduction of softwood strips 2 into the channels cut in the adjacent faces of the sills such strips being introduced when dry, so that when the wood swells it will become water-tight, or nearly so, and these timbers are bolted together and calked between them, such calking being supported by the wood stops 2.

There are usually two sills and jambs for the ponton at suitable distances apart, and heavy flooring between these sills to support them, and outside the outer sill there is a table formed of piles S, cross-timbers S, and longitudinal timbers S which timbers are bolted together and to piles; but if the ground is too hard for piles to be driven posts are used that are notched near their lower ends, around which the sand or gravel is rammed, and the material is excavated below the cross-timbers S, and the spaces around the piles or posts and between the cross and longitudinal timbers are filled up with concrete or mortar above the tops of the piles or posts. The object of this arrangement is to form a smooth table, above which mud and other materials that maysettle from time to time can be excavated by any suitable dredging apparatus without injuryto the piles or timbers of the table. This in ractice is found often necessarv and the concrete protects the timbers against worms.

The posts or jambs at the entrance of the dock for receiving the end portions of the ponton are to be of ordinary character, except that the wood stops 2 areintroduced between the timbers forming the posts or'jamb at the entrance of the dock, and the inclined approach to the dock may be of any desired character.

The sides of the dock are made with altarsteps E, resting upon the inclined timbers or braces E, and the bottoms of these timbers E abut against the ends of the cross floor-timbers K and rest upon piles and upon the string-pieces E at the upper ends of the sh eet-- piling I.

The altar-steps are raised one upon the other-that is to say, the wood of the lower step passes under the bottom edge of the second step, and so on. To resist the thrust of the braces E and altars, I make use of hardwood keys T, resting upon and bolted to the top surfaces of thecross floor-timbers K, and they are'notched into these floor-timbers with their ends against the steps, so as to make a firm support for the bottom altar-step, and these hard-wood keys take the strain on the end grain and, beingof narrower width than the cross floor-timbers, allow for the introduction of plank shear-sections T between one key and the next and resting upon the crosstimbers and spiked thereto to complete the floor at this point, and chocks U are introduced below the bottom altar-step between the cross floor-timbers K and resting upon the longitudinal stringers G and bolted through the altar-step and stringer, and the lower corners of these chocks are cut off t leave drainage-scuppers.

The altar-steps are more or less numerous, according to the depth of the dock, and they are made in two sections, the lower section extending up to the shelf V and the upper section rising above the shelf to the combing, which is formed of three timbers V, the upper one being the last altar-step. Thetop of the combing is usually upon the same level as the earth or pavement outside the dock. The platform-timbers and platform V extend outwardly from the shelf, and the braced timbers V support the top altar-section. These timbers and platforms, being buried in the earth around the dock, are immovable and firmly support the altar system, and the shelf is a great convenience for men and materials near the ship being repaired .or built.

I introduce a water-pipe 6, preferably below the platform and running around the dock, by which water is introduced to flush the longitudinal channels under the dockflooring and to wash all refuse materials from the altars, platforms, and floor of dock through the traps and channels to the well,from which it will be removed by pumps without further trouble. v

The plat-form and shelf are placed below high-water line, so that they will be wet by rising tide when the dock is open, thus preventing rapid deterioration.

The caisson or ponton that is made use of for closing the entrance to the dock is formed with a projecting rib 10along the bottom and up the ends, and a rubber gasket is int-roduced to render the joint between the caisson and the sill P water-tight, and the caisson is usually floated into place after theship has entered into the dock and water is admitted into the ponton or caisson to cause it to sink into its position; but in practice difficulty is often experienced in properly adjusting the ponton in position after it has been sunk, and it is often necessary to provide a number of men upon the deck of the ponton or caisson or to move weights to the inner side of the caisson, so as to cause the rib of the ponton to come up properly against the sill and the rubber gasket thereon. To provide for handling the caisson or ponton more easily and rapidly, I employin such caisson or ponton ballast-chambers R R into which water can be admitted by any suitable gates, and there are pipes 12 connecting the ballastchambers R and R and cocks 13 14; 15. By opening the cook 15 the water is allowed to pass from one ballast-chamber to the other and stand at a uniform level. By opening the cook 13 water is allowed to run out of the chamber B when the cook 15 is closed, and

the cook 14 when open allows water to run out of the chamber R The filling and emptying of these tanks can be done by pumps. When the caisson or ponton has been floated into its posit-ion at the entrance of the'dock, or nearly so, water can be admitted into the bilge of the caisson sufficient to cause it to settle or sink to its position. Then by allowing water to run out of either chamber R or B into the lower part of the ponton such ponton can be rocked up against the rubber gasket and sills, so that leakage will be prevented sufficiently to enable the dockpumps to quickly reduce the level of the water in the dock, and the pressure will then force the ponton hard against the sills, forming a water-tight joint by the usual rubber gasket. \Vhen the caisson is to be removed,

it is rocked away from the rubber gaskets before being floated off, so as to prevent such rubber gaskets being torn and injured by sticking to the surfaces of the ponton-ribs and to the sills.

It will be understood that the platform extending into the ground and below the upper altar-section enables me to shorten the braces or beams upon which the lower section of the altars rest, and the earth back of the altars does not press inwardly with so much force, because the upper section of the altar-steps and platform are outside the shelf, and the platform is held firmly in place by the load of earth upon it, and this platform,being a continuous structure, strengthens the upper part of the dock all around the same, and being below high-water mark the shelf and platform are preserved from rot.

The top section of the altar system, being above the platform, can be easily repaired without disturbing the lower portion of the dock, thus dividing the dock by the platform and separating the portion that is most liable to rot from that which is the most durable, and allowing for repairs where necessary without disturbing the other portion of the structure. The shelf forms a floor, which may be provided with tracks, if desired.

It will also be apparent that the lower part of the dock may be made partly or wholly of masonry, and the shelf and platform and upper section of the altar-steps be made of wood, as before described, and with the same beneficial results.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the rows of piling, longitudinal timbers, cross-timbers, and flooring, of concrete around the upper ends of the piles and sloped up at the sides of and above each longitudinal timber to form longitudinal water-ways in the spaces between all the longitudinal timbers in the bottom of the dock for clearing the space below the flooring from foreign substances by flushing the same longitudinally, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the piles and longitudinal timbers, of cross floor-timbers, inclined timbers, altar-steps resting against the inclined timbers, and hard-wood. keys upon the cross floor-timbers and against which the lower altar-step rests, the plank shear-sections, and checks, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the piling, longitudinal stringers, and floor-timbers, of, the sill-timbers and sill at the entrance of the dock, and the wood stops introduced into channels longitudinally of the sill-timbers, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the floor and sill for the caisson or ponton, of piles or posts at the table outside the sill, cross and longitudinal beams at the sides of the piles or posts and bolted or notched to them, and concrete between the piles and the longitudinal and cross beams and rising above the tops of the piles, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the dock, of a caisson or ponton having ribs at the bottom and ends thereof and ballast-tanks at the two sides, and the connecting pipes and cooks for regulating the position of the ponton .after it is floated into place to cause it to rock or settle against and upon the sill of the dock or to separate therefrom prior to removal, sub- 7 5 stantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with the altar-steps in a dry-dock, made in two sections, of a wooden platform and shelf around the dock between the upper section of the altar-steps and the steps, extending out into the earth and beneath the upper section of the altar-steps, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the lower section of altar-steps, of a platform extending outwardly around the upper part of such altar- 0 steps for strengthening the sameand the upper section of the altar-steps above such platform and supported by timbers, substantially as set forth.

9. Thecombination, with the altar-steps 5 and the inclined braces for supporting the same, of the floor-timbers and the double stringers beneath the intersection of the braces and floor-timbers, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the braces and the altar-steps supported by such braces, of floor-timbers against which the braces rest, and keys for the lower altar-step, whereby the strains at the joints are received and resisted upon the end grain of the wood, substantially as set forth.

11. The gate-sills for the dock, formed of timbers bolted together, in combination with the wood stops introduced into the longitudi- 11o nal channels in the timbers, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination, with the dock having a sill and the caisson or ponton forming a floating gate and having a projecting rib, of water-ballast compartments in the caisson and at opposite sides thereof, and means for admitting water for adjusting the caisson or ponton against the sill of the dock or for rocking it away from the sill, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination, with the altar-steps and the inclined braces supporting the same, of sheet-piling I, extendingup to the inclined braces, and concrete at 11 below the altarsteps and between the piling at the bottom of the dock, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 20th day of November, 1890.

RALPH G. PACKARD. 

